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Doggie Tales

In The News

Knots N Tangles was featured in a news article in The Independent (Northumberland News) on November 3, 2011 where the article describes the experiences of several students who were enjoying their co-op placement with us. From the article, "Ms. Renaud said being part fo the co-op program was somtething she wanted to do from the minute she opened her buisness and she firmly believes in passing on what she has learned."

Welcome Sophie

One of our new special clients at Knots "N" Tangles is Sophie (Magisterial's Princess Sophia). Sophie is a standard poodle owned by Scott McDonald. Scott and Sophie will be around the salon from time to time helping out and getting groomed.

This Picture was taken at the Pine Ridge Kennel Club Confirmation Show in Port Hope at the end of September 2011. Sophie took "Best of Breed".

Who Is Older You Or Your Dog?

It was not long ago the only way of getting an appraisal of your dog’s age in human terms centered around the simple multiplication of his actual years by the number 7. Thus, a one year old dog was the equivalent of a seven year old human, while a ten year old dog was the counterpart of a seventy year old human. Though this math was certainly simple it was not realistic. For example, you are more likely to hear of a one year old dog giving birth than hearing of a seven year old child doing so.

A more carefully graded system, which is now broadly accepted, has the human equivalency year piled onto a dog’s life more quickly during the first two years of the dogs life to account for the dog’s rapid growth to maturity, after which each year for a dog become the equivalent of four years in term of human longevity. The spread between the average life span of thirteen years and the maximum approximate lifespan of 30 years gives the ratio of 2 ½ years in human terms for every year of a dog’s life after the age of thirteen.

So here is a table, incorporating these new refinements, showing the real relative ages between dogs and humans:

Dog Age

Human Age

Dog Age

Human Age

6 months

10 years

16 years

75 ½ years

1

15

17

78

2

24

18

80 ½

3

28

19

83

4

32

20

85 ½

5

36

21

88

6

40

22

90 ½

7

44

23

93

8

48

24

95 ½

9

52

25

98

10

56

26

100 ½

11

60

27

103

12

64

28

105 ½

13

68

29

108

14

70 1/2

30

110

15

73

P.S. Like humans, dogs with active lifestyles seem to love longer. For example two of the most active dogs in show business – the original Lassie and the Benji – lived to the ages of 18 and 20 respectively.

Why Should You Clip a Dog's Nails?

Clipping your dog's nails is important because nails that are too long change the way your dog walks. When your dog steps differently to accommodate a nail that is too long, it causes unnecessary wear and tear to various parts of the foot. A dog that is not walking properly also can suffer from muscle soreness and joint stiffness. Nails that are too long can also catch on various types of flooring indoors and are more prone cause injury to your dog's foot when playing outside. The longer a nail grows, the more it will curl. A nail left seriously neglected can grow completely around to make a circle.

Clipping a dog's dew claw is equally important. Although this nail does not touch the ground, you still need to clip it. A dew claw left untrimmed is especially sharp because it does not get worn down by walking. Long dew claws can get caught in furniture or other fabrics, and pose a special threat to human companions who might get caught by them when playing with their dog.

If your dog's nails are very long and you can see the quick extends almost to the tip of their nail, begin by clipping a very tiny bit of each nail off. Wait a week, and then repeat the process again. By clipping just the very end of the nail, the quick will gradually inch backwards into the nail and give you the opportunity to clip more off the next week. Eventually the quick will sit in the proper space and you will be able to clip nails normally.

If you cut too far and hit the quick, simply dip your dog's nail in styptic powder. This will stop the bleeding and help it to heal. Your dog might yelp or whine, but it is not a serious injury. It may cause a setback in their comfort level with nail clipping, but it can be overcome.